Samji will join Team Canada 1 at the International Team Championships in Mexico in November
September 6, 2016 – Burlington, ON – Burlington’s Fareen “Far” Samji has done it again. Samji won her fifth consecutive ILDC (International Long Drive Challenge) Women’s Canadian Long Drive Championship at Stark’s Golf Club in Port Rowan, Ontario on Labour Day Weekend.
Samji, 41 years old, went into Sunday’s competition as the defending champion.
Battling strong headwinds, she advanced to the Championship round with a 314 yard drive. Her personal best drive in competition is 334 yards from her 2015 win. Samji beat out longtime competitor Lisa “Longball” Vlooswyk in the crucial fourth round, moving straight onto the finals where she met Cory Pond, a 22 year old from Simcoe. Samji defeated Pond with a 299 yard drive over Pond’s 290 yard drive.
“I am really happy with how I hit on Sunday,” said Far Samji. “The ILDC Canadian’s is always a great competition. This year, swirling winds and a strong head wind played havoc with our drives. Everyone handled the conditions as well as they could.“
Sunday’s competition was held on the ninth hole of Stark’s Golf Club, only 40 yards wide. The competition is a double elimination format. Each competitor has six balls and two minutes and 45 seconds to complete their drives. The longest ball in the grid wins.
Samji will be joining Team Canada 1 once again for the International Competition in November where she will defend her title as the Women’s 2015 International Long Drive Champion.
Two other Burlington golfers placed in the top ten on the men’s side on Sunday. Jacob Gill hit for third place and Brett Walker finished in sixth place.
About Fareen “Far” Samji
At 5’5” tall, Samji defies the odds as Long Drive Champion. As a tour player from 1999 to 2002, Samji’s power drives were the mainstay of her game. She competed on the LPGA Futures Tour*, Players West Tour, Challenge Tour, Asian Tour, South African Tour and Canadian Tour. She won an event on the Players West Tour in 2002, and earned several top five finishes throughout her career. In 2014, her passion for the sport of Long Drive prompted her to join Jason Davies in co-founding the Board of United International Long Drive (BUILD), a not for profit association dedicated to furthering the sport of Long Drive throughout the world. www.buildlongdrive.com
A proud Burlingtonian, Fareen lives in the city with her family, is a small business owner, and is an active member of the Burlington North Rotary Club. She offers golf instruction at FarAway Greens Indoor Golf and is the host of Cogeco TV’s instructional golf series Hit it Far, currently in its 4th Season. More information about Far is available at www.farsamji.com.
* Now known as the Symetra Tour
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